Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington

Our penultimate stop in Olympic NP this weekend was at Ruby Beach. Along with Rialto and Second Beach, this is among the three most scenic beaches along the 'accessible' Olympic Coast, from everything that I've seen before (overlooking Shi Shi Beach, which is more of a hike). We didn't stay right until sunset, but arrived here late in the afternoon and stayed until about an hour before sunset.

At this point, a couple hours before the sunset itself, the light was a bit flat and not terribly interesting, and the tide was coming in meaning that access was getting cut off as the clock ticked. I recalled a shot I'd taken at the Sutro Baths in San Francisco that I've always been pretty happy with, and saw an opportunity to try something similar here. (That photo can be seen here.) I found a vantage point up on top of some rocks where I had these foreground rocks just below me and the prominent sea stacks in the distance. The waves were really coming in and constantly threatening to take my tripod with them, or at least get me soaked, but I managed to stay mostly dry and make use of the effect of the waves on the rocks.

I actually blended two identical exposures here, taken back to back. In subtle ways I liked the foreground of one and the mid range of the other, while the tops looked almost indistinguishable. The shots were done with my ND400 filter, as well as a 2 stop ND Grad filter across the horizon.